Reconstruction:Proto-Finnic/nana

This Proto-Finnic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Finnic

Alternative forms

*nenä

Etymology

Cognate with Proto-Samic *ńuonē, suggesting earlier *ńana; further origin unknown.

Reconstruction

Reconstruction as *nana is due to YSuS. There is significant vocalic variation in descendants. *nana is directly only found in Livonian; all of Northern Finnic has *nenä. No holistic explanation currently exists.

It is possible that *nenä goes back to earlier *ńenä,^[1] which in turn could be a variant of *ńëna, from which *ńana could be descended from.^[2]

Noun

*nana^[3]

nose

Inflection

Inflection of *nana

	singular	plural
Note: The Proto-Finnic declension system is yet to be reconstructed in detail. What is presented here is only one possibility.
nominative	*nana	*nanat
accusative	*nanan	*nanat
genitive	*nanan	nanadën nanoidën
partitive	*nanada	*nanoida
inessive	nanassa nanahna	nanoissa nanoihna
elative	*nanasta	*nanoista
illative	*nanahën	*nanoihën
adessive	*nanalla	*nanoilla
ablative	*nanalta	*nanoilta
allative	nanalën nanalëk	nanoilën nanoilëk
essive	*nanana	*nanoina
translative	*nanaksi	*nanoiksi
instructive	*nanan	*nanoin
comitative	*nananëk	*nanoinëk
abessive	*nanatta	*nanoitta

Descendants

Livonian: nanā, (Salaca) nana

From *nëna:

Võro: nyna

From *nina ~ *ninä:

Estonian: nina

From *nenä (< *nëna?):

Finnish: nenä
Ingrian: nenä
Karelian:
- North Karelian: nenä
- South Karelian: nʹenʹä
Livvi: nenä
Ludian: nena
Veps: nena
Votic: nenä

References

^ Kallio, Petri. The non-initial-syllable vowel reductions from Proto-Uralic to Proto-Finnic. SUST 264: Per Urales ad Orientem. Iter polyphonicum multilingue (2012), Helsinki. p. 167
^ Heikkilä, Mikko. Varhaisen kantasuomen vokaaliston ja fonotaksin uudennoksista sekä niiden ajoituksesta. Fenno-Ugrica Suecana 14 (2012), Stockholm. p. 22 (footnote 12)
^ Kallio, Petri (2020–), “*nana”, in Yhteissuomalainen sanasto [Common Finnic Vocabulary]‎^[1] (in Finnish)

[1] Kallio, Petri. The non-initial-syllable vowel reductions from Proto-Uralic to Proto-Finnic. SUST 264: Per Urales ad Orientem. Iter polyphonicum multilingue (2012), Helsinki. p. 167

[2] Heikkilä, Mikko. Varhaisen kantasuomen vokaaliston ja fonotaksin uudennoksista sekä niiden ajoituksesta. Fenno-Ugrica Suecana 14 (2012), Stockholm. p. 22 (footnote 12)

[3] Kallio, Petri (2020–), “*nana”, in Yhteissuomalainen sanasto [Common Finnic Vocabulary]‎^[1] (in Finnish)

[1]

[2]

[3]